Dubuque sheriff's department hires new deputy previously arrested for sexual assault

[jberesford]

If that's not enough... His dad is a currently a county supervisor and a retired ranking officer in the department. This blew up fast, lol. Saw this kid's hiring on the departments Facebook page this morning and then someone posted the article about his charges to it and it soon had 6,000 comments. Can't see why this wasn't a bad idea at all....

Dubuque Sheriff's deputy hiring sparks backlash after sex abuse charges resurface

A man sworn in as a Dubuque County Sheriff Deputy on Tuesday was charged with sexual abuse after allegedly assaulting a minor in 2017.Matt Pothoff's hiring has

cbs2iowa.com

 

[HawCory]

My wife showed this to me this morning.
I'm all for giving people a second chance to join society, but in cases like this that second chance should be more along the lines of working the deli counter at HyVee rather than in a position of authority.

 

[millah_22]

ACAB

 

[MitchLL]

Apparently when you have trouble hiring, you tend to lower your standards???

This really doesn't look good from a public relations standpoint.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

A couple things to spur on this discussion.

1. The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office is under the leadership of an elected Democrat.

2. It appears there was no conviction in this case.

 

[torbee]

If that's not enough... His dad is a currently a county supervisor and a retired ranking officer in the department. This blew up fast, lol. Saw this kid's hiring on the departments Facebook page this morning and then someone posted the article about his charges to it and it soon had 6,000 comments. Can't see why this wasn't a bad idea at all....

Dubuque Sheriff's deputy hiring sparks backlash after sex abuse charges resurface

A man sworn in as a Dubuque County Sheriff Deputy on Tuesday was charged with sexual abuse after allegedly assaulting a minor in 2017.Matt Pothoff's hiring has

cbs2iowa.com

Some pretty sloppy reporting in there.

it never says clearly what the result of the trial after the assault arrest was. I think it was dismissed - in which case he likely should not be denied employment - but they threw in info about a civil counter suit that apparently was also dismissed - making it very confusing.

 

[hawki4ever]

The guy is a liability and the Sheriff screwed up. The county better hope he doesn’t screw up with them having knowledge of his background. Who puts NyQuil in a minors drink? A rapist that’s who. This guy doesn’t have a right to be a deputy, just because he wasn’t convicted.

 

[Joes Place]

...I heard Andrew Tate might be lookin' for work...

 

[torbee]

He gone

Dubuque County deputy resigns after widespread complaints over past sex abuse charge

A man hired as a Dubuque County sheriff’s deputy has resigned after an old sex abuse case in which he was never convicted caused community outrage.

www.desmoinesregister.com

 

[McLovin32]

He gone

Dubuque County deputy resigns after widespread complaints over past sex abuse charge

A man hired as a Dubuque County sheriff’s deputy has resigned after an old sex abuse case in which he was never convicted caused community outrage.

www.desmoinesregister.com

Probably for the best. Judging a book by it's cover here but that fella would get his ass kicked in any sort of physical confrontation with any criminal that isn't a scrawny lil bastard.

 

[mthawkeyes]

My wife showed this to me this morning.
I'm all for giving people a second chance to join society, but in cases like this that second chance should be more along the lines of working the deli counter at HyVee rather than in a position of authority.

Or President.

 

[torbee]

Probably for the best. Judging a book by it's cover here but that fella would get his ass kicked in any sort of physical confrontation with any criminal that isn't a scrawny lil bastard.

Or an underaged girl, which is more likely.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

A couple things to spur on this discussion.

1. The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office is under the leadership of an elected Democrat.

2. It appears there was no conviction in this case.

Unlike you most of us don't blindly defend everyone that has the correct letter next to their name.

 

[Pinehawk]

Because you were trying to defend a sexual abuser who was hired to be a cop.
Turns out, even those that hired him weren't willing to defend their actions.

 

[theiacowtipper]

His apparently forced resignation is a sad day. He wasn’t convicted, only charged. I don’t know if he actually did anythjng and neither do any of you. You’re judging someone based on a criminal charge without admission or conviction of guilt. I get someone’s life being ruined by a criminal conviction. I don’t understand publicly persecuting someone based on a dismissed criminal charge.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

on one hand it seems like a bad idea

On the other hand he wasn’t convicted. The act of being charged means your career is over?

Then I read the article, lol, he basically admitted to very poor judgement at the very very least.

I would hate to see a day when somebody can just make up shit and end the career of a law enforcement official but in this case he sort of admitted to at least being a creep.

 

[Moral]

This is like the time the Jaguars brought on Chris O'Doyle.

 

[theiacowtipper]

Because you were trying to defend a sexual abuser who was hired to be a cop.
Turns out, even those that hired him weren't willing to defend their actions.

How do you know he’s a sexual abuser? He said she fabricated the charges. Who is right? I don’t know and neither do you. Sexually assaulting a minor is not something a person should be tagged with unless there’s a conviction or some kind of related plea. I think your post is out of line.

 

[Pinehawk]

His apparently forced resignation is a sad day. He wasn’t convicted, only charged. I don’t know if he actually did anythjng and neither do any of you. You’re judging someone based on a criminal charge without admission or conviction of guilt. I get someone’s life being ruined by a criminal conviction. I don’t understand publicly persecuting someone based on a dismissed criminal charge.

You think there was any chance his father being a cop and county supervisor might have played a role in the outcome?

 

[lonestar50]

This is like the time the Jaguars brought on Chris O'Doyle.

 

[theiacowtipper]

You think there was any chance his father being a cop and county supervisor might have played a role in the outcome?

I have no idea. Certainly the position of his father played a role in the hiring. That doesn’t matter. He wasn’t convicted. He passed a polygraph. Convicted criminals have a huge hurdle to overcome when the integrate into society. Now we are going to make people who weren’t even convicted overcome those same hurdles?

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I have no idea. Certainly the position of his father played a role in the hiring. That doesn’t matter. He wasn’t convicted. He passed a polygraph. Convicted criminals have a huge hurdle to overcome when the integrate into society. Now we are going to make people who weren’t even convicted overcome those same hurdles?

LOL

 

[Pinehawk]

How do you know he’s a sexual abuser? He said she fabricated the charges. Who is right? I don’t know and neither do you. Sexually assaulting a minor is not something a person should be tagged with unless there’s a conviction or some kind of related plea. I think your post is out of line.

They found Nyquil in the system of the person who accused him.
They brought charges because the police and attorney's office felt they had the evidence.
For most jobs, the dropped charges wouldn't matter. If you want to be a cop? Yeah, there are plenty of people without a sex abuse charge on their record that would be a better choice than this obvious nepo hire.

"Authorities said a Durango boy gave an underage girl a drink that led her to pass out and then sexually abused her.
Matthew D. Pothoff, 17, is charged in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County with third-degree sexual abuse, a felony. He was arrested Sept. 9, according to court records.
Court documents state that Pothoff, then 16, gave a teen girl younger than him a “fizzy Kool-Aid drink” that made her dizzy and black out at his residence in October. She reported awaking to the Pothoff sexually abusing her.

The Dyersville Commercial does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes.
Authorities said a blood test found dextromethorphan — an over-the-counter cough suppressant — in the girl’s blood. A bottle in Pothoff’s kitchen also contained dextromethorphan, documents state.
They also state that DNA evidence corroborates the girl’s assertion that she was sexually assaulted."

https://www.dyersvillecommercial.co...cle_0e0c203a-c493-5981-93bc-76c7c8876899.html

 

[torbee]

His apparently forced resignation is a sad day. He wasn’t convicted, only charged. I don’t know if he actually did anythjng and neither do any of you. You’re judging someone based on a criminal charge without admission or conviction of guilt. I get someone’s life being ruined by a criminal conviction. I don’t understand publicly persecuting someone based on a dismissed criminal charge.

He had sex with her and gave her a drink with NyQuil in it.

Even if consensual, that is not ethical behavior.

You cool with hiring cops that ply underage girls with booze to have sex with them?

 

[McLovin32]

You think there was any chance his father being a cop and county supervisor might have played a role in the outcome?

I know this will be taken with a grain of salt (as it should) because it's a message board and I'm not going to post specifics. But a very close family friend got raped when she was in high school by the son of a small town cop in NE Iowa. Her family pressed charges, and the case was almost immediately dismissed. The kid would routinely show up places that he knew she'd be for a couple years after it too and there was nothing she could do about it.

So while there's no way to know, I think you very well could be onto something with this.

 

[theiacowtipper]

LOL

For the context of my reply it doesn’t matter. He met the hiring requirements and was hired. People get jobs every day because of who their daddy is. They don’t all have to resign.

 

[theiacowtipper]

They found Nyquil in the system of the person who accused him.
They brought charges because the police and attorney's office felt they had the evidence.
For most jobs, the dropped charges wouldn't matter. If you want to be a cop? Yeah, there are plenty of people without a sex abuse charge on their record that would be a better choice than this obvious nepo hire.

"Authorities said a Durango boy gave an underage girl a drink that led her to pass out and then sexually abused her.
Matthew D. Pothoff, 17, is charged in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County with third-degree sexual abuse, a felony. He was arrested Sept. 9, according to court records.
Court documents state that Pothoff, then 16, gave a teen girl younger than him a “fizzy Kool-Aid drink” that made her dizzy and black out at his residence in October. She reported awaking to the Pothoff sexually abusing her.

The Dyersville Commercial does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes.
Authorities said a blood test found dextromethorphan — an over-the-counter cough suppressant — in the girl’s blood. A bottle in Pothoff’s kitchen also contained dextromethorphan, documents state.
They also state that DNA evidence corroborates the girl’s assertion that she was sexually assaulted."

https://www.dyersvillecommercial.co...cle_0e0c203a-c493-5981-93bc-76c7c8876899.html

Then he should have been charged and convicted. Apparently there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.

 

[Pinehawk]

Then he should have been charged and convicted. Apparently there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.

But, there was certainly enough evidence to not hire him as a cop.

 

[theiacowtipper]

He had sex with her and gave her a drink with NyQuil in it.

Even if consensual, that is not ethical behavior.

You cool with hiring cops that ply underage girls with booze to have sex with them?

It is alleged that he put NyQuil in her drink. Alleged. He wasn’t convicted. He wasn’t even tried. I don’t know how old he was at the time but apparently he wasn’t enough older that it was statutory.

In the eyes of the law he did not commit a crime.

 

[Pinehawk]

Sounds like you know the family.

 

[theiacowtipper]

But, there was certainly enough evidence to not hire him as a cop.

Why? Because he was charged? That’s all it takes? A charge? We are going to start denying people the right to be a public servant because they were charged? Should he have fought the dismissal of the charges so he could have a trial with an acquittal?

 

[torbee]

It is alleged that he put NyQuil in her drink. Alleged. He wasn’t convicted. He wasn’t even tried. I don’t know how old he was at the time but apparently he wasn’t enough older that it was statutory.

In the eyes of the law he did not commit a crime.

OK let's say he didn't.

He still gave her booze and had sex with her. When she was 16.

You have a pretty low threshold for egregious behavior in future LEOs.

 

[theiacowtipper]

Sounds like you know the family.

I do not of course. And I have no familiarity with anyone in this situation. Many of you are also ignoring the fact that he passed a polygraph.

Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t do anything wrong. There apparently wasn’t enough independent evidence that he committed a crime.

 

[Chishawk1425]

Or President.

 

[theiacowtipper]

OK let's say he didn't.

He still gave her booze and had sex with her. When she was 16.

You have a pretty low threshold for egregious behavior in future LEOs.

I haven’t ready anything that said how old he was. Shoot I don’t even know what the laws are on consent in Iowa. She said he gave her the drink. She alleged that. He said she fabricated the entire thing. We don’t KNOW what happened because charges were dropped. The obvious reason they were dropped is because they couldn’t prove anything. He didn’t even take a plea. They were just dropped.

Again, are we going to condemn someone just because they were criminally charged? We don’t know what happened. Is he lying? Maybe but he passed a polygraph.

 

[McLovin32]

Many of you are also ignoring the fact that he passed a polygraph.

I know multiple cops that lied about drug use and still passed a polygraph when asked about ever using drugs.

And I know they lied about the drug use because I was with them while they were doing it. Passing a polygraph isn't an absolute thing when determining if something did or didn't happen/csb

 

[theiacowtipper]

OK let's say he didn't.

He still gave her booze and had sex with her. When she was 16.

You have a pretty low threshold for egregious behavior in future LEOs.

I don’t know how old he was. I don’t know. If we are going to start condemning people for trying to get laid as teenagers I’m in trouble. Again, if he was 25 it’s a creepy thing. If he was 17 it’s not. I can’t fond how old he was.

Did you drink with girls in high school to try and get laid? Have you ever had sex with someone after either of you had too much to drink? I mean that happens every weekend in Iowa City. Maybe that’s rape. But he wasn’t tried for that. He wasn’t convicted. If every person who was drinking and had sex was charged there would be a lot of people in prison.

 

[theiacowtipper]

I know multiple cops that lied about drug use and still passed a polygraph when asked about ever using drugs.

And I know they lied about the drug use because I was with them while they were doing it. Passing a polygraph isn't an absolute thing when determining if something did or didn't happen/csb

Using drugs in the past doesn’t disqualify you from police service. Lying about using drugs will disqualify you. I have no idea if they lied about that.

There is some scientific basis for polygraph use but of course they can be fooled.

 

[king_henry5]

My wife showed this to me this morning.
I'm all for giving people a second chance to join society, but in cases like this that second chance should be more along the lines of working the deli counter at HyVee rather than in a position of authority.

I don’t want a sexual assaulter touching my meat!

 

[torbee]

I don’t know how old he was. I don’t know. If we are going to start condemning people for trying to get laid as teenagers I’m in trouble. Again, if he was 25 it’s a creepy thing. If he was 17 it’s not. I can’t fond how old he was.

Did you drink with girls in high school to try and get laid? Have you ever had sex with someone after either of you had too much to drink? I mean that happens every weekend in Iowa City. Maybe that’s rape. But he wasn’t tried for that. He wasn’t convicted. If every person who was drinking and had sex was charged there would be a lot of people in prison.

Have you ever actually been in a position to hire someone?

I have. And when you run a background check and it comes back with an arrest, one looks at the circumstances and determines if this is the type of person you would want to be associated with your organization. In this case, it is a LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER who - at the very least broke several laws including underage consumption of alcohol, giving alcohol to a minor and illegal drug use.

The fact you just gloss over this and think it's OK for him to be a cop is wild.